NEW DELHI: Embattled Delhi Police commissioner Neeraj Kumar on Tuesday took on chief minister Sheila Dikshit over allegations that the police sought to influence the statement of the 23-year-old victim of a gang rape that sparked angry public protests.

Responding swiftly to Dikshit writing to home minister Sushilkumar Shinde about the reported "interference" in the recording of the statement by sub-divisional magistrate Usha Chaturvedi on Friday, Kumar flatly denied the charges and instead accused the official of bias.

The CM's missive comes after her strong pitch for Kumar's sacking in the wake of the gang rape. The CM reportedly brought up the demand when she met Shinde on Sunday evening. Dikshit has argued that the city government could not be responsible for law and order as the police works under the home ministry.

Chaturvedi, in a report, had said the police tried to "intimidate" her, insisting she follow a questionnaire. The SDM said she found the line of inquiry to be contrary to the account narrated by the victim. Chaturvedi also wanted the testimony to be videographed.

The home ministry has sought an explanation from the police and is likely to order an inquiry. "The contents of the letter are serious and alarming," the CM has said, referring to a communication sent to her by deputy commissioner (east) B K Mishra.

The row came out in the open, with Kumar not only rejecting the SDM's account, but stating that Chaturvedi has had repeated run-ins with the police. "This is not the first time the SDM has created a problem," Kumar said. He denied that the police had insisted on a questionnaire and said the SDM was briefed at her request.

The combative rebuttal sent shock waves through the administration as Kumar said Chaturvedi was under no pressure to record the victim's statement. He pointed out that the statement was recorded as there was a concern that the victim may not survive. "A dying declaration has evidentiary value," he said.

Police sources said this was the third occasion since September that the SDM and the cops had differences. The CM's letter to the home minister cited a report from Mishra regarding the alleged interference faced by Chaturvedi, who is SDM of Vivek Vihar, while discharging her magisterial duties.

The police chief said the SDM was briefed by the police before recording the statement because she requested this. "If the situation was not suitable for recording the statement, she should not have recorded it," Kumar said. "She made no complaint to us on the night of December 21 when the statement was taken. No one called us and gave us a chance to explain. Then all of a sudden, on the late evening of December 24, we were told a complaint was filed and a copy of the complaint was given to the media. It is very sad, because it can affect the investigation."

In her complaint to the DC, Chaturvedi is learned to have stated that on December 21, she went to Safdarjung hospital to record the statement of the victim where DCP (South), ACP (Vasant Vihar) and ACP (Defence Colony) were present along with a huge entourage of police personnel.

She cited how the police showed her a copy of the questionnaire and asked her to record them as facts. Chaturvedi went on to add that the brief was far from the actual events of the night of the crime as discovered by her while recording the statement of the victim later. Chaturvedi said in her complaint that the police tried to pressure her to record the statement at their convenience and when she objected, they "misbehaved and tried to intimidate her".

Chaturvedi also pointed that a lot of time was wasted over whether the statement of the victim should be recorded on camera, as the police was trying to dissuade her from doing this.

Police said the victim's family was worried that the video could be leaked to the media. Chaturvedi, however, said the victim's mother might have been influenced by the police to not allow videography when they failed to persuade her. The SDM claimed that she was finally able to start recording the statement around 8pm, after forcibly evicting the police personnel from the ICU.

Kumar, on the other hand, said the police initially contacted the deputy commissioner of New Delhi Neela Mohan but since she had no woman SDM in the district, the police was directed to divisional commissioner Dharampal.

"He asked ACP (Vasant Vihar) to contact the SDM of Vivek Vihar, Usha Chaturvedi. Later, she came to the Delhi Police headquarters, from where she was escorted (to the hospital) by ACP Vasant Vihar. She was alone with the girl when she took her statement. She was not supplied any questionnaire. The SDM recorded the statement of the victim's mother at 7.40pm and left," the CP said.